Sony Ericsson Xperia Play Discussion

[dataDave]

Apart from having an awesome gamepad it doesn't do anything any other phone would...(it has access to 'official' PS1 games but you are better off just using the stand alone emulator).

For me, being a fan of emulators this is what I use it for. Everything up to and including PS1/N64 works great. Combine that with a 32GB memory card and you've got a library of thousands to play through. So far my stand out experience was completing original Ocarina of Time on the N64 (something I hadn't done since I purchased it all those years ago). Neo Geo, Capcom, MAME, Snes, MegaDrive, Nes, GBA, GBC etc etc it's all there.

I find it near impossible to properly enjoy these on any other phone without a gamepad. Touch screens just don't work in my opinion for emulation, or at the very least offer a seriously unsatisfying experience.

Although I'm not a huge fan of the modern era of handheld gaming there are loads of Xperia Play titles that use the gamepad well...All the Gameloft games like Asphalt, Backstab, Rainbow 6 (great online with the pad) etc. EA have the amazing Dead Space, Battlefield, Need for Speed...there's Minecraft if you are into that, pus there are loads of standard Android games that both use the pad and don't. Sony also securing plenty of exclusives (at least for a while) to the Xperia Play.

Is it the best 'phone'? No, there are phones with better cameras, slimmer/lighter frames & overall offer a better user experience as a phone only. But, I'm a gamer FIRST! I only have room in my pocket for 1 device. I own a PSP, a DS, and of course a phone...I cannot carry all this around. Xperia Play effectively puts all that into one despite not being a master of any specific trade. True, it isn't the best phone but does it offer a pleasing Android experience - yes. It's completely great as it is, and it will be able to upgrade to the latest Android when it comes out.

Overall, as a gamer, it is the best phone I have ever owned and I will never get rid of it unless another phone with a gamepad comes out.

I nabbed the unit off of my mrs this weekend and started off by removing all the crap that came with it. I then went on to Gingerbreak it and delete even more crap. Then I installed all the good stuff and I have to say I am very, very impressed.

Some emus took a little bit of adjusting to run smoothly, but they are all nearly there now after my exhaustive benchmarking (I'm anal when it comes to emu - it has to be perfect). The MAME I have running plays Mars Matrix and Gigawing with no slowdown at all when the sound is turned off, turn it on and there are slight jutters here and there but I believe this is being worked on.

Now the bad part... I'm getting thumb cramps with my left thumb because the d-pad is so clinical, this will probably go away. Also, I have to buy the mrs an iPhone to replace this one as I have now officially stolen her phone.

I wouldn't even class it as a phone, more like a portable emulator with MP3/storage/internet capabilities, and I'd recommend it to anybody. Best 'phone' ever!!1

[niftyifty]

heh heh another off topic reply for the Xperia play as well :-)

This is by far THE best gaming device I've bought this year - got it in the O2 sale couple of weeks back for ?150 with 16GB sdcard etc.

Once it's rooted and overclocked I can vouch for the fact that this little machine plays all emus perfectly. Look out for the ones by Robert Broglia on the Android marketplace and Snes 9x Android from a quick google search (it was pulled from Marketplace I think) ;-) then look at the emus on slideme like Gamboid, Gearoid etc. I purchased fPSE from the Marketplace and it plays my fave shooters like Gradius Gaiden, Harmful Park, Zanac X Zanac, Raiden project, R-types, Rtype Delta more or less flawlessly at full frame rate. There is a little sound hiccups but it could be that the 16GB SD card that comes with it is only a Class 2 rated card maybe?

I have my Play OC'd to 1.3Ghz and it plays EVERYTHING I can throw at it full frame rate no hiccups (I'm a real stickler for 60fps). I have installed the latest doomkernel (v5 Test 2) and the latest firmware (and removed any bloatware) the XDA forums are a good place to get info on all this. Got the phone Sim unlocked as well via an online/remote process as detailed in the XDA forums from a reliable member (with good feedback) - cost was around ?15.

Like dataDave says it really has opened up emulation much more so than settling down at my laptop - I've also found a skin from amazon here: http://www.amazon.co.uk/ERICSSON-XPE...0162552&sr=8-4 that adds a little more bulk to the phone but makes it much easier to hold for long gaming sessions :-) I throughly recommend it (and it's cheap at the mo ?2.99!)

I was seriously considering getting a GP2x Wiz or Caanoo but those dreams are now long gone with this device - and I get the impression there is much more emulation wise out there for it (up to N64 era) and a lot more competition between emulator authors which is no bad thing ;-)

So a full 10/10 from me and can;'t wait to see what the PS Vita can do either, games and emulation wise ;-)

[25.05.2005]

That's great news guys, glad you are enjoying it.

I want to talk about the Xperia Play more but don't want to clutter up the VITA thread, new thread for it?

[Brad]

This may be of interest to you chaps:

Dock for ?8.99

http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B004RSFZMO/

[monel]

Is it better than a CFW PSP for emulation, then?

[koopatroopa90]

Better than the N-Gage then

I've always been quite interested in this phone but just don't think I could leave the iPhone now, particularly when I also own a PSP go...

[25.05.2005]

Is it better than a CFW PSP for emulation, then?

Kind of, but not really. It's better at N64 but on par with just about everything else, give or take a few niggles on either device. From a purely emulation perspective the PSP is better as the screen is bigger, the control are bigger & it's just a more comfortable feeling overall. However, I would rather have an Xperia Play because the emulation experience is still top notch AND you get a fully featured Android smartphone, not to mention Android games as well.

Better than the N-Gage then

I've always been quite interested in this phone but just don't think I could leave the iPhone now, particularly when I also own a PSP go...

But this is an Iphone and a PSP in 1 device!....well not quite, not really, but almost. What was I saying again? Haha.

[niftyifty]

Sorry about clogging up the PSvita thead initially with this xperia talk lol ;0)

I've tried a custom FW PSP but always felt it could do with a bit of extra horsepower in some emus. But as above the feel of it when playing is great - especially for us lads (ladies?) with larger hands...

I don't post on here much - I'm more of a lurker/watcher and occasional poster (if that doesn't make me sound too weird!)

If this phone has got someone like me champing at the bit to spread the love then it must be doing something right lol... Not sure if many o2 stores still have them in stock though if anyone is after one. I know in the Midlands area (B'ham) all stores were sold out within days of them being reduced. I bagged the last but one from the Sutton Coldfield branch.

The XDA dev forums are also a great source of modding info - I installed the latest Doomkernel v6 on it today and the phone operation is buttery smooth full 60fps in menus, scrolling, drag and drop etc. An the emulators run at full frame rate 60fps - I havn't tried N64oid yet but have tried almost everything else. The PC.emu by Robert Broglia (he the man) is fantastic - it plays SuperCD games from Bin/Cue files as well :-) have tried Gates of Thunder, Nexzr, Super Star Soldier CD, all flawless.

[25.05.2005]

GTA 3 now released. Never thought I'd see the day when I could play that on my phone!

[dataDave]

I'm still getting sound hiccups and occasional stutter when forcing 0 frameskip in SNES9X. I gave up trying to get sound and gameplay to run at 60FPS with TigerMAME so moved across to MAME4Droid which is perfect, although it only supports an older ROM set.

Loaded up Cyanogen FXP50 on my white one and keeping the stock rom on my black one, both running with DooMKerneL.

[25.05.2005]

Did you see that OnLive now supports the Xperia Play!

My quick review:

Can't tell you how excited I was when I heard about an OnLive app appearing with Xperia Play support.

Full, new, retail games on my beloved Xperia Play. Ok, so you need an internet connection but this is a major thing for the Xperia Play.

Firstly, even on my less than perfect internet connection, the games appear to be work perfect. As far as I can see, there is no noticable button lag at all. That is great!

However, having had a good play of a fair few games though, there are a few problems.

Now these are to be expected, but I didn't really think about them when I head the inital annoucement.

- In a lot of the games the text is a little small to read.

- Controls are a major problem. There simply isn't enough buttons.

- Controls again, a lot of the games don't allow customisation, meaning some functions are inaccessible, and thus, the game unplayable.

- The touch pads are a very poor substitute for an anolog stick. Some games are ok, but most are impossible to control accurately. In fact, I'd rather use the DPAD than the touchpads, though this is an option denied to us in most games.

- All of the above could be solved to a satifactory level by allowing full customisation of controls.

- The onlive app is brilliant, but the text could be somewhat crisper. Looks kind of blurred.

Overall, the games that do work well with the controls work amazingly. Street Fighter for example is great, as is Dirt 3. Even games like Assassin's Creed work quite well. It is such an amazing thing to be playing these games on a mobile phone. The fact that most games are accompanied by a free trial is definitely something OnLive should be applauded for as it allows us to see what works well and what doesn't. I can definitely see myself spending some money in the future!

[25.05.2005]

Just as a follow up, I have found that more games than not offer decent control customisation, so it's all pretty good actually.

I can't seem to get to grips with FPS's on it, the control just seem a bit slow. But anything else, in particular 3rd person games like Arkham City, Prince of Persia, Tomb Raider, Assassin's Creed, even Red Faction work great.

This app is defintely gonna get some play time from me!

[QualityChimp]

Is the Xpreia Play good as a phone too?

Does it handle all the Android emulators OK?

Does is start sloooowing down after a couple of months?
My Wildfire is grindtastic these days and the main memory is full of apps that can't be moved to the SD card!

Love the idea of a phone with proper gaming controls, touchscreen doesn't cut the mustard.

[dataDave]

Just get one and thank us later.

[sega kid]

Mine arrived today, and im happily messing around with it as i type this. picked mine up from chitter chatter. I will know be spending the next few days finding the best emulators and games. first impressions are its fab